


Mr. Hooper's Photograph Collection

by ReleasingmyInsanity



Series: Polyamory AU [15]
Category: Sesame Street (TV)
Genre: Character Study, Established Relationship, F/M, Families of Choice, Fluff, Gen, Interracial Relationship, Mr. Hooper is everyone's dad, Mr. Hooper lives, Photographs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 15:04:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16813048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReleasingmyInsanity/pseuds/ReleasingmyInsanity
Summary: A character study of Mr. Hooper using the pictures he has of his family and friends as a framing device.





	Mr. Hooper's Photograph Collection

Someone who hardly knew Mr. Hooper would be surprised that behind the grumpy façade was a very caring man who loved his family deeply. One of the best ways to learn how deeply he cared was to look at the pictures in his apartment. One might expect him to have a very simply decorated apartment, with perhaps one or two pieces of art. But instead there were photographs everywhere. On the walls, on the tables, on the bookshelf, on the kitchen counter, on his nightstand, on his dresser. And that wasn’t even including all the pictures he had stored in photo albums.

Harold Hooper liked to surround himself with people he loved. And it showed in his decorating choices.

There were pictures of his parents of course. And those he kept in a place of pride. Right in the center of the wall, where they were the first thing that someone would see when they walked in the front door. There was a picture of his mother and a picture of his father. A picture of the two of them together on their 50th anniversary. And a family photo including Harold and his younger brother Arnold.

Arnold was well-represented on this wall as well. There were pictures of him as a boy and as a teenager. This included his graduation photo from high school, something Harold himself hadn’t managed until he was much older. There was Arnold and Janet’s wedding photo, and a number of photos of the two with their children.

While that wall and several albums were devoted to his biological family, the rest of the photos in the apartment were of his Sesame Street family. And there were a lot of people in that family.

There were pictures of Mr. Macintosh and Willy of course. Harold, Mac, and Willy had grown up together on Sesame Street. As had David Handford. There were pictures of him too. The pictures of the four men started when they were boys and continued as they grew up. Pictures becoming more and more common as film became cheaper and easier to acquire.

There were pictures of Mac and Willy proudly showing off Mac’s new produce stand and Willy’s new hot dog cart. A candid picture someone had snapped of the two of them cuddling together during a quiet moment. Another candid, this time of them with Harold himself, showed the three of them forgetting to be respectable and chasing each other around with buckets of water on a hot day. And of course there was the most important picture. The one of Mac and Willy gazing at each other lovingly, wrapped in each other’s arms, on the day they pledged their commitment to each other.

Mr. Handford’s pictures included one of him on his first day in the Fire Academy. And one from the day he graduated, looking spiffy in his new firefighter dress uniform. There were fewer of him, as he had lived off the street for many years and it was harder to get together during that time. But he was well represented in the photos that were there. There was even a new one now that the two men were working together to run the store.

But even more than pictures of his best friends, Mr. Hooper had pictures of his honorary children. And of residents and visitors to the street who he didn’t consider his children, but were certainly his friends.

There were the most pictures of Big Bird. Somehow the eight-foot-two bird had a knack for being in photographs. It was very sweet how many photos of the other residents included Big Bird. And there were many photos of Big Bird by himself or playing with the other kids. Big Bird was Mr. Hooper’s first unofficially adopted child. And it showed in the number of photographs, that Mr. Hooper had been thrilled by his new “son.”

Then then there were the pictures of the humans that Mr. Hooper considered his children. There were individual pictures of each of them, but most of the photos were group pictures. There were wedding pictures of course. Susan and Gordon’s wedding photo was lovely, but the picture next to it was the best. 

The photographer had been taking group photos and wanted a few of the bride and groom with their shared best man/man of honor Bob. They were chatting as the photographer changed the film in her camera. She had taken a picture of the three of them smiling at each other, joy plain on their faces.

There were pictures from Maria, Luis, and David’s wedding as well. Very few pictures from the day were of just the three of them. Linda, Bob, and Olivia were never far away. Although they were not interested in marriage, their love for their partners was as clear and as strong as the love the three newlyweds shared. Every picture featured the six of them looking at each other adoringly. Smiling so wide that you wondered how there was room in the picture for so much happiness. 

There were also plenty of graduation pictures. Most of Mr. Hooper’s honorary kids had graduated from college, or trade school in the case of Luis, before they moved to Sesame Street. But they had given him copies of their graduation photos anyway. Maria and David had moved to the street while they were still in school and photos from their graduation were often of both of them. There were the pictures from David’s graduation from law school. And although Gina was still in college, she had given him the pictures from her high school graduation, surrounded by all her friends from the street.

In the center of the wall of graduation photos, sat one of Mr. Hooper’s most prized possessions. His diploma from when he finally received his GED. He had been so proud that day. After dropping out of high school, he had always felt that he should go back and finish what he had started, and he had finally succeeded. He often showed his diploma to anyone who visited his apartment. And used it as gentle encouragement to the kids when they were feeling tired of school.

There were pictures from the day that Susan and Gordon brought their son, Miles, home for the first time. And pictures from the day the Street welcomed baby Gabriela and from the day she came home from the hospital.

There were pictures from every single birthday celebration. And pictures from Hanukahs and Christmases and New Year’s celebrations and Thanksgivings and every other reason to celebrate that the residents of Sesame Street could think of.

Candid photos of his Street family were everywhere. They were all filled with such a sense of joy and wonder that shown beautifully in their expressions. Mr. Hooper loved to surround himself with his family and the happiness that they brought into his life.

Mr. Hooper’s bedroom had far fewer photographs than the rest of his apartment did. Only a few very important portraits were displayed. There was a large picture of Big Bird with his best friend Mr. Snuffleupagus, sitting on the dresser. And there were two pictures on the nightstand. One was the most recent “family portrait” of the Sesame Street residents, and one was of Harriet.

Mr. Hooper was happy to let everyone see his photograph collection, except for one photo. The one of Harriet Taylor, David’s grandmother. Harriet was a very nice lady and Mr. Hooper thought she was quite special. The portrait on his nightstand was the only one he had of her, although she had offered to give him more.

He knew that the “kids” were aware that he and Harriet had been seeing each other quietly for many years now. But he always preferred to keep his romantic life private. The only people who knew the depth of his feelings for the lady were his three best friends and Harriet herself. And Harold Hooper preferred to keep it that way.

He didn’t like for people to see that he kept her photograph by his bed, or for them to see the writing in the corner of the image. “To Harold. Love, Harriet.” He wasn’t ashamed of her, or of their relationship, but it wasn’t anyone’s business how they felt but their own.

The family portrait, on the other hand, he was thrilled to show to people. Everyone he loved most in the world, other than his brother’s family, was included in that photo. There was Mac with Willy at his side and David Handford beside them. There were Gordon and Susan with Miles, and next to them Bob, Olivia, Linda, Maria, Luis, and David with Gabi.

There was Gina, who had brought her best friend Savion into the shot. Big Bird with his best friend Snuffy stood in the back next to Linda’s dog, Barkley. Where they wouldn’t block anyone else from view. There were assorted monsters and children, and there was Harriet. She had visited that day and when she learned that it was family photo day, she had walked purposefully into the group. Situating herself next to her grandson and his daughter. But also next to Harold himself, who stood in the center of the photograph surrounded by his family and filled with such love for them all. He was truly happy.

**Author's Note:**

> Sesame Street has been brought to you today by the letters P and M and by the number 20.
> 
> This fic takes place somewhere in the 90s.
> 
> We don’t know anything about Mr. Hooper’s parents, but his brother Arnold visited him a few times.
> 
> Canonically Mr. Handford didn’t grow up on Sesame Street, but it made sense in a Mr. Hooper lives AU for Mr. Handford to be an old friend of his.
> 
> The photographer at Susan and Gordon’s wedding was totally a friend of Olivia’s that she’d recommended.
> 
> Mr. Hooper and Harriet went to a dance together in season 11, so Arytra and I decided that she was his girlfriend.
> 
> Mr. Hooper loves his family so much.


End file.
